CITY OF KELOWNA HIRES DEATH SQUAD TO EXTERMINATE BUNNIES
Deceptive City Parks officials use incomplete, biased and exaggerated information to hijack council meeting

The City of Kelowna had the opportunity to choose compassion over killing. Instead they fell victim to the deceptions and exaggerations presented to them by City Parks on May 12, 2008. Amongst the fabrications were:
EBB Environmental Consulting, the company chosen by city staff to address the feral rabbit overpopulation (by lethal means), would provide the best value with their bid of $54,000 for one year. Correction: TRACS had submitted a bid of $44,000 for the first year. However, we submitted figures for years two and three as well (an additional $28,000 for year two and $26,000 for year three). We simply don't believe that any company or organization will be able to capture every single free-roaming rabbit in just one year. Ongoing abandonment accounts for at least some of the rise in population. City Parks conveniently forgot to clarify to Mayor and Council what TRACS had really submitted, and why.
City Parks claimed that rabbits kept alive would represent a 15-year care commitment. Correction: According to experts, rabbits live for five to ten years on average. Oldtimers of 15 years are not the norm. Nutrition-compromised feral rabbits would be at risk of an even shorter life span.
Deceitful! And that's not all.

In response to heavy questioning from Mayor Sharon Shepherd and the five council members present, Ian Wilson, Urban Forestry Supervisor for City Parks, stated that EBB could possibly look at non-lethal methods, such as giving captured rabbits to rescue groups, placing them in sanctuaries, etc. These suggestions represented another deception, deviating from EBB's stated method of dealing with caught rabbits--"culling". (Please note that culling is just another word for killing. Exterminators use this word to make their killing practices sound more acceptable.)
Ian Wilson and Parks Manager Joe Creron did not divulge what method would be used to kill the rabbits. They said they didn't know. Common killing methods accepted by the B.C. Ministry of Environment are gassing and dry ice. City Parks should have exercised honesty and clarity by detailing kill methods to Mayor, Council, media and the public in attendance. If they didn't know what methods are used, they should have done the research and shared their findings. That would have been the right thing to do.
Note what happened next at this legislative Gong Show. Councillor Norm Letnick moved that EBB Environmental Consulting be hired to do the job. This motion passed, with Mayor Sharon Shepherd and Councillor Michele Rule opposing. Next, Councillor Letnick moved that, pending advice from the Purchasing Manager, council would "direct staff to work with EBB Environmental Consulting to minimize any potential for culling and report back to Council". This motion passed with flying colours. Councillor Letnick then commented that he would never have made the first motion had he doubted that the second one would pass. There was just one little problem, though. The Purchasing Manager had an issue with the second motion (what power she wields), and it was ultimately not approved. EBB ended up with the contract, and the bunnies got a death warrant, despite efforts by Mayor and Council to provide some protection to them.

TRACS is greatly troubled by the deceptions, discrepancies, misdirected power and poor management displayed at the May 12th council meeting and during its aftermath. Once again, innocent animals have been ensnared in a bog of bureaucracy. It is clear that City staff runs the show and makes decisions--not Mayor and Council.

What You Can Do to Help the Bunnies:

Mayor Sharon Shepherd and her council have 30 days to bring the issue back to the table. The fate of Kelowna's rabbits rests with them and any changes they can make, including cancelling the contract with EBB. Please write to mayorandcouncil@kelowna.ca or phone the Mayor's office at: 250-469-8687. Ask them to do the right thing and place the Kelowna feral rabbit issue back on the agenda for consideration. It's the least they can do after naively believing what City Parks had to say.
EBB Environmental Consulting has signed the contract, and extermination could begin any day now. Adults, babies, nursing mothers (with tiny newborns left alone in the warrens) will be victimized. This is cruel and unjust. EBB's contact information is: phone 604-219-2412; e-mail: busby@ebbconsulting.org . Ask them to re-visit their usual practices and NOT use lethal means on these innocent animals. Tell them that killing rabbits is not acceptable in Kelowna, and that their public image will suffer as a result of using these methods.
If there is such a thing as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, then City Parks gets the prize for Ugly. Ian Wilson, Urban Forestry Supervisor, and Joe Creron, Parks Manager, need to take some time out to learn that honesty, kindness and good ethics really do pay off. Phone: 250-717-2757 or e-mail Mr. Wilson: IWilson@kelowna.ca .
Eyes are needed in the community. Please watch out for EBB using live traps to capture rabbits. TRACS welcomes video footage of any animal welfare violations.
There is an election pending in Kelowna this fall, and advocates are calling for the introduction of animal welfare as an election issue. To date, Mayor Sharon Shepherd and Councillor Michele Rule get full marks for their compassion as well as their wisdom in rejecting the EBB proposal. The usually well-intentioned Councillor Norm Letnick did sadly make a huge error this time, ultimately signing a death warrant for the rabbits with his motion. Councillor Carol Gran was not present, but previously she had supported non-lethal means and appears to be kind-hearted. Kelowna residents, please stay tuned for more details later in the year from a citizens' group wishing to organize a political public awareness campaign from the animals' perspective. The momentum is on to help create a compassionate community.
Kelowna tourism may suffer if potential visitors become aware that the City has hired rabbit killers. Who would want to vacation in a community that responds with a heavy trigger finger against various species of animals? Beavers and geese have also been targeted over the years in Kelowna (again, courtesy of City Parks). This is the contact information for Tourism Kelowna: info@tourismkelowna.com .
Please feel free to forward this alert widely.

For the rabbits,
Sinikka Crosland